A new study predicts that by 2019, the majority of healthcare organizations will have adopted Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Currently, the healthcare industry is the third most advanced industry in implementing IoT.

Findings from the study include:

• Worldwide, 60% of healthcare organizations have brought IoT into their facilities, with 87% predicted to have done so by 2019.
• IoT is used for:
  • Monitoring and maintenance (73%). This use was ranked number 1 by more executives than in any other industry, confirming the importance of IoT-based patient monitoring in healthcare.
  • Remote operation and control (50%)
  • Location-based services (47%)
• IoT benefits seen in healthcare organizations by study respondents include:
  • Increased innovation (80%)
  • Improved visibility across the organization (76%)
  • Increased cost savings (73%)
• Of the providers currently using IoT technology, 67% have plans to connect their IoT devices via Wi-Fi.

Despite the benefits of IoT technology, security remains a concern. Of the study respondents, 89% had experienced an IoT security breach and 49% experienced problems with malware. Additional security concerns included human error and DDoS.